Creating and Critiquing Comics Art

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This is the third in a series of reports documenting the production progress of The Cat Cooking Comics In Kappabashi, the sequel to my graphic novel/artist book Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics that was completed in 2016. Somewhat similar in vein to its predecessor in its graphic narrative approach it differs by being less autobiographical and less of a graphic memoir and markedly more fictive and humorous. Owing to the absence of the Doctor Comics character it contains hardly any of his anecdotes and even fewer human characters as it drifts more in the direction of funny animal comics. The principal character, Cohl the cat from the Blotting Paper graphic novel, has adventures in the Asakusa area of Tokyo to which he has travelled in search of his missing friend the other cat, Busch.

In the Asakusa area of Tokyo where Cohl goes to look for Busch (page from the Blotting Paper graphic novel).

Doctor Comics researching the bookshop area of Tokyo.

In addition to the restaurant supplies area some scenes take place in Kanda, the bookshop area of Tokyo. Cohl initially explores the manga shops but then extends it to sources of traditional woodblock printing books as well as books about yokai and other spirits.

This is the second in a series of reports documenting the production progress of The Cat Cooking Comics In Kappabashi, the sequel to my graphic memoir/artist book Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics that was completed in 2016. Essentially similar in vein to its predecessor in graphic approach it will be different through being less autobiographical, less of a graphic memoir and more fictive. It will contain fewer anecdotes, fewer human characters and is much more of a funny animal comic. The principal character is the cat Cohl from the Blotting Paper graphic novel and his adventures in Tokyo to which he has travelled in search of his friend Busch.

At the end of the Blotting Paper graphic novel (page 286 above and page 287 below) Cohl is content to remain in Berlin but is attempting to contact his friend Busch who had left Germany for Japan with his new mate Barks.

A second and a third draft of the new comic have been written but the design and artwork are still at the preliminary stage. As in the Blotting Paper graphic novel printmaking is being employed along with other forms of image-making including drawing, typography, handwriting, calligraphy, collage and photography. As with the earlier publication the intention is to make a comic in an artist’s book/graphic novel type of format.

This is the first in what I intend will be a regular series of reports documenting the production progress of the sequel to my comic/artist book Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics that was completed in 2016. The current draft title of the new book is The Cat Cooking Comics In Kappabashi.It is in a similar vein to Blotting Paper in its graphic approach but different in that this comic will be less autobiographical and less of a graphic memoir and much more fictive. It will contain fewer anecdotes of Doctor Comics and much more about his cat Cohl’s adventures. A first draft of the comic has been written but the design and the artwork have yet to be commenced. As in the earlier comic printmaking will be employed along with other forms of image-making including drawing, typography, handwriting and photography. As with the earlier publication the intention is to make a comic in an artist’s book type of format.

The story begins in Berlin where Cohl, having heard no word from his friend Busch for almost two years, decides to follow him to Tokyo and try to find him. Cohl has been very comfortable in the German city and consequently reluctant to move but his curiosity has awakened him from his cultural slumber.

Continuing the profile of my art postcards here are some more recent ones from this year on various themes. These cards are hand-printed, created from a combination of drawing and printmaking in low print run editions. Once I finished a session it meant the end of that particular batch. I would not repeat the design or reprint it. Cards in an edition are all original prints, similar in design but with no exact duplicates and fall within the standard postcard size dimensions of 10cm x 15cm or a near approximate. More information about this project is contained on the four previous POSTCARD posts (see the links below at the bottom of this post).

This is the third post on the fish prints I made with woodblock printmaking techniques for the experimental animated film Toxic Fish. The fish in this sequence is the Kohada or Gizzard Shad. Its static shape on the woodblock contrasts with the flooding of coloured toxins around it.

This post concludes the collection of cartoons I contributed to U: magazine whilst working at the University of Technology, Sydney. This, plus the three previous cartoon posts, constitute an online gallery of my single panel satirical work.

Continuing the profile of my art postcards here are some early ones from the years 2007-2009 on the theme of The Seasons. These cards are hand-printed, created from a combination of drawing and printmaking in low print run editions. Once I finished a session it was the end of that particular batch and I would not repeat the design. Cards in an edition are all original prints, similar in design but with no exact duplicates and generally fall within the standard postcard size dimensions of 10cm x 15cm. The orange print marks visible on some cards come courtesy of Australia Post. More information about this project is contained on the three previous POSTCARD posts (see the links below).

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Michael Hill Ph.D.

Follow the production progress of my artist book/comic BLOTTING PAPER and read my views on related subjects including posts on Australian Alternative Comics and my travels in Germany, Japan and USA. For further detail on my profile see the About page.